The present invention relates generally to a top for an ironing board and an ironing board including the same, and more particularly, to an ironing board top made entirely from molded plastic and an ironing board including the same.
It has been generally assumed that to obtain a high quality ironing of garments and the like, the moisture occurring during the ironing or released in the form of water vapor while ironing, i.e., produced by a steam iron and/or from the residual moisture in the moist garments being ironed, should escape as much as possible. Accordingly, ironing boards have been developed which include an ironing board top made from a perforated metal plate which is covered by an ironing board cover and has a pad underneath. One such ironing board is shown for example in British Patent No. GB-A 1 017 572.
European Patent Publication No. EP-1 002 895 describes an ironing board which does not require a cover yet is still useable because the presumed problem of moisture retention in the garment during ironing was found to be non-existent.
In order to provide a smooth ironing, it has been found that the heat of the iron and the pressure exerted on the garments by the iron do not significantly affect the smoothness of the garment once ironed. Rather, it is the intentional introduction of moisture in the form of water vapor that results in a smooth ironing. It is also known from commercial (professional) laundries and dry cleaners that substantially only the so-called dry water vapor must be added to the garments to provide a smooth finish. Shirts and blouses, for example, are ironed smooth entirely without pressure, simultaneously being xe2x80x9cblown upxe2x80x9d or inflated like a balloon.
Household ironing techniques have changed considerably in recent times. Currently, most irons sold are steam irons which generate steam during ironing.
Recently, a new ironing technique has been developed which uses an ironing board top having a structure designed to intentionally prevent, or at least hinder to a considerable extent, the passage of steam through the ironing board top, i.e., in a downward direction when an iron is pressed downward against the ironing board top. As a result of the construction of an ironing board top which partially or completely prevents the passage of steam therethrough, a significant improvement in ironing performance and quality is obtained, in comparison with traditional ironing board tops which allow substantially unrestricted steam flow therethrough. Moreover, by constructing the ironing board top in this manner, it becomes easier to guide and move the iron because a cushion of steam and warm air develops under the iron and the iron slides on this cushion of steam and warm air (this is referred to as the air-cushion, hydrofoil or riding-on-air technique).
Thus, significant advantages are provided by ironing board tops that are substantially impermeable to steam, including enhanced ironing performance and quality. Such an ironing board top could also be constructed to include an additional heat-reflecting material and thus obtain even more operational advantages.
European Patent Publication No. EP-1 002 895 describes two embodiments of an ironing board having an ironing board top which is impermeable to steam and thus enables the above-described advantageous ironing technique. In one embodiment, the ironing board top includes a sandwich or composite plate made of plastic and comprising a top plate, a bottom plate and a honeycomb system arranged between the top and bottom plates. A vapor retardant, or other type of vapor barrier or vapor-impervious member or material, and a pad are also provided in the sandwich plate. The honeycomb system could be replaced by a foam slab.
Although the ironing board top described in European Patent Publication No. EP-1 002 895 allows the advantages of the above-described ironing technique to be obtained, the structure of the ironing board top is relatively complicated so that as a result, it is expensive to manufacture.
In order to set an ironing board aside or store it in a compact manner, it is generally known to make the stand of the ironing board collapsible. Examples of collapsible ironing stands are described in German Utility Model No. DE-U 80 06 001 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,912,775. In the ironing board described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,912,775, a combined guide and bearing plate for pivotable storage of the two legs of the stand and for guiding the displacement of one of the two legs is provided on the underside of the ironing board top.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new ironing board top and an ironing board including the same.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new ironing board top that has a relatively simple structure and relatively low manufacturing costs.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a new ironing board top in which the passage of steam and water vapor through the ironing board top is substantially or completely prevented.
In order to achieve these objects and others, an ironing board top in accordance with the invention comprises a one-piece molded body made of a hard foam plastics material and having a substantially flat upper surface adapted to enable ironing of garments thereon. The molded body may be mold ed to have the shape of a conventional ironing board, i.e., substantially rectangular with rounded edges on one end and tapering edges on an opposite end. Other shapes are also possible.
An ironing board top in accordance with the invention can be produced economically in a simple manner with the least possible expenditure of time using a molding tool. That is, the ironing board top is essentially molded by the molding tool to have the desired form, i.e., a molded body having a substantially flat upper surface which enables garments to be ironed thereon. By virtue of the molding of the hard foam plastics material, the ironing board top will thus inherently have properties that are important and essential for effectively enabling optimum use of the ironing technique described above, namely, a structure impermeable to steam and which provides thermal insulation. The material used to produce the ironing board top may be a variety of materials (described below) and the ironing board top may have various dimensions. A strength or load-bearing capacity of the molded body and thus of the ironing board top can be attained that is at least as strong as conventional ironing board tops.
To attain the best possible thermal insulation and strength and at the same time a structure that is substantially or completely impermeable to steam, it is possible to make the molded body from a hard foam having a closed-cell structure. Various plastics materials can be used as the raw material for the foam. For example, one possible (perferred) material is polypropylene. Polypropylene is available in high, low and medium density forms. Medium density polypropylene foam is currently preferred. Other plastics having similar or corresponding properties can also be used. The plastics materials can either be processed such that it is formed homogeneously only in a molding tool, i.e., expanded, to make a molded body constituting the ironing board top in accordance with the invention, or in the alternative, a plastics granulate or foam granulate can be used whose foam particles adhere to one another in the molding tool after a treatment method known per se. In the latter case, the plastic or foam granulate is compressed, compacted or densified in the mold of the molding tool. Tempering and/or sintering following the shaping of the molded body in the molding tool leads to further solidification and strengthening (or hardening) of the molded body. Instead of tempering or sintering, other methods for strengthening, solidifying and/or hardening the molded body to make it stronger, more solid and/or harder could be used in accordance with the invention.
As a result of the unitary, continuous foam structure of the molded body constituting the ironing board top in accordance with the invention, the insulation capacity of the molded body to prevent heat conduction or dissipation is substantial such that only a slight, negligible amount of heat produced by the iron, if any, is wasted, e.g., lost by heat conduction downward. However, to further improve the ironing results and to conserve energy, it is advantageous that the top of the molded body is coated with a material that reflects thermal radiation. It is also possible to cover the top of the molded body with a suitable foil or film that acts as an additional vapor barrier or retardant that supplements the vapor-blocking, or vapor-retarding, provided by the material of the molded body. The foil or film coating may be made of metal, such as aluminum foil.
The coating, foil or film is advantageously arranged over the hard foam molded body under the ironing board cover to provide the maximum benefits of the ironing board top in accordance with the invention. The thermal-radiation-reflecting material or coating of the molded body can be located directly under the ironing board cover, which is made for example of cotton fabric, or under an intermediate pad located under the ironing board cover against the molded body. However, since the molded body already has adequate insulating, compensating and cushioning properties, a separate intermediate pad can be dispensed with. Optionally, a coating that reflects radiant heat and/or a separate vapor barrier can also be dispensed with.
In another embodiment of the ironing board top in accordance with the invention, a guide and/or bearing mechanism for the stand of the ironing board may be formed integral with the molded body of the ironing board top. This provides advantages with respect to production and cost as well as advantages with respect to the strength and load-bearing capacity of the ironing board top. In an alternate embodiment, for the cohesion of the molded body with the guide and/or bearing mechanism of the stand, a connecting mechanism may be provided on the molded body and the guide and/or bearing mechanism for connecting the molded body to the stand.
From an aesthetic standpoint as well as for easy handling and storage of the ironing board with the collapsed stand, it is advantageous if the guide and/or bearing mechanism for the stand are located at least partially below the outer contour of the underside of the molded body. In addition to or independent of locating the guide and/or bearing mechanism below the outer contour of the underside of the molded body, it is advantageous if the molded body has indentations and/or protuberances or the like (such as protrusions and raised areas) on its underside arranged to receive elements of the stand of the ironing board, for example, for receiving a part of the legs of the stand. These indentations and/or protuberances can also serve as locking elements of the stand when the stand is in the collapsed state, i.e., to lock the stand to the ironing board top.
To fasten the stand to the molded body, fastening openings for screws or other similar fastening means may be provided in the molded body. The fastening openings are preferably reinforced, e.g., by forming sleeve-like inserts in the molded body. The inserts may be integrally formed with the molded body, e.g., by integral foaming or insert molding.
Other advantageous features of an ironing board top in accordance with the invention and an ironing board including the same can be gleaned from the following description of the invention.